Each month I will put out a small and large challenge of things you can do to help fight slavery.
Remember when Christ said that everything we did for the poor and oppressed, was counted by Him as something we did directly for Him? Let's take that to heart!
February Challenge!
Alrighty, who's feeling adventurous?
For our small challenge this month:
Pick a brand, any brand! Pick that one thing you splurge your money for instead of sending it on it's merry little way to the bank. Pick that clothing tag you're proud to wear. That food you crave late at night when you're on your couch and your cupboards are bare. Pick that coffee you depend on to get you through the day or that chocolate you use to sooth those roller-coaster moods.
Got it?
Okay! Great. Now click on this link: http://www.chainstorereaction.com
And find out if your brand is a winner! By "winner" I mean, have they proclaimed themselves to be above board and good for humankind? Yes? Whoo-hoo! Go buy yourself a treat! Thank the store-manager on the way out! Or at the least, thank the company by sending them a note on the website that revealed their hearts of gold.
No, you say? Not to worry, my friend. You can use this same website to send them a letter if they have not drawn their line in the sand, to see if they claim to be a super-hero or a villain. While you're there, check out to see if the real super-hero that provides that same product is hiding there somewhere. (Hint: Check the telephone booth!)
Now for the BIG challenge!
BE the super hero!
Who shall you save today?
Perhaps you'll put on your cape and fly over thirteen countries to help fight for freedom for women and children forced into prostitution. Perhaps you'll work with your sidekick IJM to break down the doors of a brothel or stand in front of judge while the person responsible for these crimes comes to justice.
If you're a Christian, how about skipping Starbucks for one day and using $5.00's to give someone a Bible in their own language?
Or perhaps you'd like to trade in that new 10.00 shirt for a super-cool tight shirt with your first initial as a logo and provide an entire vegetable garden for a family who is struggling to put dinner on the table.
Perhaps you'd like to wage war against the over-population of mosquitoes and save the world from the diseases they carry - as well as gain personal satisfaction of starving those vicious little creatures that ruined your last camp-out.
While you're out, you might make a stop in Africa and put $13.00's toward alleviating the hunger pangs of a drought-ridden land and those struggling to grow food on it.
But, ho! What is this? A natural disaster has ravaged through an area, leaving hundreds of family's homeless and subject to the elements. You stop and turn your cape into a blanket and shelter for a family that has lost everything they own.
On your way back, you notice a infant with an ill mother - or no mother at all - and stop to cradle the child, offering love and enough formula for a month. Who knows? You may have just saved the world's next super hero? With those sort of credentials, you won't even miss that 20.00 purchase you intended to make.Pulling off your gloves, you rub your hands and enjoy a job well done. In fact, now that you've done every single task on this agenda, you are shocked to find out that you have only spent $86.00 - the price of a pair of nice heels. That's not to shabby for feeding starving babies, providing shelter for a family, growing crops for a community, stopping the spread of malaria, growing a garden to provide food and income for a family, and providing the knowledge of the God of Compassion to someone who may have never heard of him. Sounds like a fair trade to me!
January Challenges:
The small challenge this month is rather quick and painless and won't cost you a cent! Go to www.goodsearch.com and find a charity who supports the abolition of slavery. I have mine set for International Justice Mission. Here's how it works. You pick your charity and download the toolbar. Then any time you search the internet, the site will donate money toward the charity of your choice. If you buy things through those searches, many companies will give a percentage of the sale to your charity.
See? Quick. Easy. Painless. And it will not change your world in any way - but perhaps it will change someone else's life.
The second challenge is to buy something that was made by a former slave, who now makes their living off of producing goods in a shop set up to get them back on their feet. They have a variety of goods that will make great birthday gifts or a treat for yourself. Or perhaps a shirt that will show others that you are working to end slavery - and open an opportunity for you to make one more person aware of the fastest-growing crime in the world today.
Here are some sites to get your started! Comment if you want to share your thoughts or what you did for the challenge. Also, feel free to send links or suggestions if you have your own ideas for challenges or good places to learn more about standing against slavery.
http://www.delicatefortress.com
http://freetheslaves.madebysurvivors.com
http://stoptraffickfashion.com
